Gimme A Sign: All That’s Missing Is “U”

For years I thought this sign too good to be true. Visible mainly off the beaten path from the west bank of the L.A. River just south of the Glendale Freeway overpass and hanging from a nondescript warehouse at the deadend of Ripple Street in Atwater Village, I long figured it was some relic left behind from a location shoot of some sort and each time I’d bike by it I’d either curse myself for not having my camera or later curse myself for having my camera but not stopping to snap it. Well no more:

The time has also come to dispel the myth of that company name being nothing more than a figment of someone’s imagination. Indeed, not only has F.C. Kingston Co. been making quality lubricators and brass ball valves since 1908, but in 2004 they moved to Torrance. All the more reason to finally immortalize this sign since it may not be around much longer.